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A couple of news items that caught my eye follow.

Reuters ran the following:

France fears upswing of violence after bus attack

By Crispian Balmer

PARIS (Reuters) - A French police intelligence agency has warned that rioting could break out again in poor, multi-ethnic neighborhoods around Paris one year after unrest swept the nation's suburbs, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Le Figaro daily published the secret document the day after a mob of youths set a bus ablaze in broad daylight on the outskirts of Paris, and then stoned police and firemen who were trying to put the flames out.

Bus drivers refused on Monday to take to the streets of the Grigny suburb, to the south of Paris, to protest against the assault, which shocked even hardened police.

It was at least the fifth time in recent weeks that French youths have launched an apparently concerted attack on the security forces and the symbols of the French state.

"The attacks of the last few weeks show (the gangs) are very well prepared and using military-like organization," said Gaelle James with the Synergie-Officiers police union.

She said the gang members were getting "younger and younger, and more and more violent".

Le Figaro quoted the police General Intelligence (RG) agency as saying the conditions which led to the 2005 riots were still in place.

"Today, a certain feverishness is very noticeable amongst some of the young ... who are critical of the work of local organizations," said the report.

"(The violence) is no longer spontaneous but structured, aimed at ... striking out at one of the last institutional representatives still present in certain places, the police."

Rioters torched thousands of cars and destroyed hundreds of businesses in three weeks of nationwide rioting last year, which kicked off on October 27 after the deaths of two youths, who were accidentally electrocuted while trying to escape the police.

Human rights groups said the root causes of the 2005 riots were poverty, unemployment and discrimination and have demanded a concerted effort to improve life in mainly non-white ghettos.

In the first six months of 2006, some 21,000 cars were burned out and some 2,882 attacks registered against the police, fire and ambulance services, the RG said.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also the presidential favorite for the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, has responded to the recent upswing in violence by promising tougher sentences for young offenders.

Le Figaro said Sarkozy was worried his opponents would pounce on any sign the situation was getting out of control and had ordered police to keep a low profile.

The Chicago Tribune ran this story:

Ex-Enron chief Skilling gets prison time

HOUSTON -- A federal judge today sentenced former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling to 24 years and 4 months in prison for the fraud that led to Enron's 2001 collapse.

In May, a jury convicted the 52-year-old Skilling on 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading in connection with his actions at Enron. After it imploded within a matter of months, the once-highflying and apparently prosperous Houston energy-trading company was found to have used a variety of accounting tricks to overstate its earnings, while hiding massive amounts of debt and financial losses in off-balance-sheet accounts.

Despite his claims of innocence, Skilling was found to have played a central role in the company's deceptions. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Skilling had been facing a range of between 24 and 30 years in prison.

Before U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake sentenced Skilling, he listened to a number of victims testify about the damage they suffered as a result of Enron's deceptions and ultimate collapse.

The victims testified that Skilling repeatedly lied to investors, including Enron employees who were encouraged to sink their life savings into what was presented to them as a fast-growing company with a bright future.

Charles Prestwood, an Enron retiree who worked for the company for 33 years, told the judge that he had lost his entire $1.3 million in savings when Enron failed. He told the court all he has left from Enron is two clocks he received from the company as gifts for being a long-time employee.

"I had $1.3 million, but all I have to show for it is two clocks," he said.

The judge had a stern demeanor as he sentenced Skilling, but refrained from any kind of tongue-lashing.

The sentence, he said, "was a tough decision." By his crimes, the judge continued, Skilling "imposed on hundreds, if not thousands of people, a life sentence of poverty."

Skilling will not be allowed to stay out of prison while he pursues an appeal of his conviction, the judge ruled.

Instead, he must turn himself in shortly to serve his sentence at a medium-security facility. Skilling has asked to serve his time at a federal prison in Butner, N.C. Until the Bureau of Prisons decides where he will serve, Skilling will wear an ankle bracelet and must remain at home.

Skilling had maintained to the judge that he was innocent of the charges he was convicted of, but he did say he felt deep remorse about the failure of Enron.

Right before the judge imposed his sentence, Skilling's attorney sought to argue that the defendant hadn't intended to hurt anyone by his actions, but Lake cut him off, saying that the trial evidence had made it clear that "he intended to commit a number of fraudulent activities."

After the sentencing, retiree Prestwood said "if it was up to me, he would have gotten a whole lot more [jail time] than that."

Tribune staff reporter James P. Miller contributed to this report from Chicago.

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